Base for a portable sewing machine carrying case

ABSTRACT

A base for a sewing machine carrying case is provided. The base is an open-topped boxlike structure which supports the sewing machine and has apertures formed in at least one of the interior walls thereof for reducing the noise produced by operation of the sewing machine.

United States Patent References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1964Momberg et [72] Inventor George L. Zilg Dunellen,N.J. [21] AppLNo.30,857

[22] Filed Apr. 22, 1970 [45] Patented Dec. 28, 1971 [73] AssigneeFOREIGN PATENTS 12/1960 France......................

Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson The Singer Company New York, N.Y.

Assistant Examiner-George H. Krizmanich Alrorneys-Marshall J. Breen,Chester A. Williams, Jr. and

Robert E. Smith [54] BASE FOR A PORTABLE SEWING MACHINE CARRYING CASE 5Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

ABSTRACT: A base for a sewing machine carrying case is provided. Thebase is an open-topped boxlike structure which supports the sewingmachine and has apertures formed in at least one of the interior wallsthereof for reducing the noise produced by operation of the sewingmachine.

[51] Int.Cl............ [50] Field of PATENTED nttzs I971 INVENTOR.George L. Zllg ATTORNEY WITNESS:

440k MODM BASE FOR A PORTABLE SEWING MACHINE CARRYING CASE BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION Portable sewing machines have in the past been providedwith carrying cases which are often formed of molded plastic material.Such carrying cases have a cover which encloses the sewing machine andan open-topped boxlike base which supports the sewing machine and whichencloses the bed of the sewing machine in the cavity defined by thewalls of the base. The simple boxlike structure of the base has provedto be quite sturdy and convenient for supporting the sewing machine andhousing the bed thereof. However, as a result of the boxlike structure,such bases have been found to have a tendency to act as a sound box forthe noise created by the operation of the sewing machine, and, therebyto amplify the noise to an undesirable level. The noise is often furtheramplified when the sewing machine is operated on a table top.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTlON This invention provides an improved base for asewing machine carrying case which incorporates means for attenuatingand dissipating the noise of the sewing machine operation.

The sewing machine carrying case base of the invention comprises anopen-topped boxlike body adapted to support a sewing machine and havingside, end, and bottom walls together defining a space within which thebed portion of the sewing machine can be accommodated, at least one ofsaid walls having at least one aperture therein adapted to attenuate anddissipate the noise created by the operation of the sewing machinesupported on the base.

The sewing machine carrying case of the type contemplated herein iscomposed of a cover and base such as shown in US. Pat. application Ser.No. 822,457, G. Zilg and H. Milan, filed May 7, 1969. Both the cover andthe base are preferably molded from high-impact polystyrene, but thecarrying case can be made from other materials, if desired.

The base is generally an open-topped box having bottom, side and endwalls. The base supports the sewing machine and the walls define a spacewhich accommodates the bed portion of the sewing machine. The side andend walls of the base preferably are formed in a dual wall constructionin which a pair of parallel, spaced walls are provided. This can beeasily done by forming the side and end walls in an inverted U-shapesuch that one of the legs of the U" define the upstanding interior sideand end walls and another of the legs of the U provide dependingexterior plates. lt is also possible to form the end and sidewalls ofthe base in a single rather than in a dual wall construction. A dualwall construction is preferred however, since it is possible to providesuperior noise reduction with a dual wall construction as will be moreparticularly described hereinafter. In addition, the exterior wall orplate in a dual wall construction can shield the apertures in the innerwall from sight, thereby improving the appearance of the base.

At least one of the walls is provided with at least one aperture whichreduces the noise level created when the sewing machine on the base isoperated. The apertures permit the sound waves generated by operation ofthe mechanism in the sewing machine bed to escape from the base andthereby prevents these waves from resonating within the base. Moreover,the apertures prevent the walls of the base from resonantly vibrating inthe manner of sounding boards and prevent the entire base from acting asa sound box. This inhibits the base from amplifying and reflecting soundwaves, whether generated within or exteriorly of the base.

Where a dual wall construction is employed, the exterior walls or platesact as sonic baffles which reflect and attenuate the sound impinging onthem. Moreover, by appropriate spacing of the two walls, the exteriorwalls can reflect the sound such that the reflected sound waves are outof phase with the oncoming sound waves so as to product cancellation ofmuch of the sound. The spacing is determined by the principal frequencyand/or wavelength of the sound and can be calculated from known acousticequations.

Apertures need not be provided in all of the walls. In fact, oneapertured wall is sufficient to produce a reduced noise level, althoughbest results are obtained if all of the walls are apertured. Theapertures can take the form of slits, slots, square, circular, orelliptical openings or the like. The shape of the apertures is notcritical to the invention herein nor is the number of aperturesprovided. However, it has been found that when the open area defined byapertures comprises approximately 40 percent of the wall area aparticularly significant noise reduction is achieved.

The apertures formed in the sidewall can also conveniently serveadditional functions, acting, for example, as providing clearance for ahinge of the sewing machine or as mounting locations for a portion ofthe sewing machine bed. If desired, the interior of the base can belined with an acoustically absorbing material to further reduce thenoise generated by operation of the sewing machine.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is an end view partially in cross section of a carrying caseincorporating the base of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective and partially in cross section of a basein accordance with the invention.

The portable sewing machine and carrying case assembly shown in FIG. 1comprises a sewing machine 5 mounted on a base 10 of a carrying caseassembly 15. The carrying case assembly is made of high-impactpolystyrene and includes a cover 11 detachably mounted on the base 10.The cover can be secured to the base 10 by means of latches (not shown).One suitable latch construction is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,050,899. Thecover 11 has a top wall 14 having a recess 17 in which a handle 16 ismounted. The handle 16 is also of conventional construction. A suitablehandle is shown in US. Pat. No. 3,340,970. The cover has sidewalls 18which enclose the sewing machine and extend to the walls of the base 10so as to engage the sidewalls of the base 10 in a sliding fit.

The base 10 supports the sewing machine 5 and also encloses the bed 6 ofthe sewing machine. A portion of the sewing machine mechanism 19 withinthe bed is shown in broken lines in FIG. 1. The sewing machine bed 6 isclosed by a bottom cover 7, and is preferably formed with cushioneddepending feet 8. The base 10 is formed with a bottom wall 20 joined byinterior sidewalls 22 and interior end walls 24 which together define acavity 25 for accommodating the sewing machine bed 6. The side and endwalls 22 and 24 are formed with flat upper portions 26 and 27respectively and the cavity 25 may be bordered by a marginal recess 28shaped to fit the sewing machine bed.

Depending from the flat upper portions 26 and 27 are exterior plateportions 30 and 31 which form inverted U-shaped dual walls with theinterior sidewalls 22 and end walls 24 respectively.

The structure of the walls of the base can best be seen by reference toFIG. 2. The dual end wall 24, 31 is of similar construction to the dualsidewalls 22, 30 with the exception that the upper portion 27 of thiswall is of substantially greater width than the upper portion 26 of thesidewalls and'an additional support wall 32 may be provided intermediatethe in terior end wall 24 and the exterior plate 31.

The interior sidewalls 22 and the end walls 24 are formed with slots 35.These slots extend from adjacent the upper portion 26 and 27 for adistance which is less than the height of the exterior skirts 30 and 31so that they are not visible from the outside of the base. The slotsreduce the noise level by permitting the sound waves to escape from thebase and by preventing the walls from resonating as sounding boards andthereby preventing the base from acting as a sound box. The exteriorplates 30, 31 act as baffles to deflect and attenuate the sound wavesthereby also reducing the noise level. The apertures 35 are rectangular.An additional aperture 39 is provided which is troughlike in structure.This aperture provides clearance for accommodation of a hinge structure(not shown) of the sewing machine.

As shown in the drawings, the bottom wall 20 of the base is providedwith apertures 40 through which the cushioned feet 8 of the sewingmachine can protrude. The bottom wall 20 is also formed with recessedboss 41 providing for a fastening screw 42 which threads into the sewingmachine bottom cover 7 to secure the carrying case base to the sewingmachine. This arrangement provides for a space between the bottom of thebase 10 and the level of any supporting table top or the like (notshown). Although not illustrated in the accompanying drawings, thebottom wall of the base may, therefore, also be made of dual wallconstruction and apertured for egress of sound in the same manner as theside and end walls. Other embodiments of the invention will be apparentto those skilled in the art.

Having set forth the nature of this invention, what is claimed hereinis:

1. A noise-reducing base for a carrying case for a portable sewingmachine, comprising an open-topped boxlike body adapted to support asewing machine, body walls formed on the sides, ends, and bottom of saidboxlike body which body walls together define a cavity within which thebed portion of the sewing machine can be accommodated, said body beingformed with a flat upper portion bordering said cavity and an externalplate depending from said flat upper portion in spaced substantiallyparallel relation opposite to a portion of at least one of said walls ofsaid body, said body wall being formed with an aperture openinginteriorly onto said sewing machine bed portion accommodating cavity,and opening externally into the space between said body wall and saidplate.

2. A base for a carrying case for a portable sewing machine,

in accordance with claim 1 in which said body wall is formed with aplurality of apertures each opening interiorly into said sewing machinebed portion accommodating cavity and externally into the space betweensaid wall and said plate.

3. A base for a carrying case for a portable sewing machine, inaccordance with claim 1 in which said external plate is providedopposite to portions of said body walls both on the sides and ends ofsaid body, and in which said body walls on both the sides and ends ofsaid body are formed with apertures opening interiorly onto said sewingmachine bed portion accommodating cavity, and opening externally intothe space between said wall and said plate.

4. A base for a sewing machine carrying case, comprising a generallyrectangular open-topped boxlike plastic body adapted to support a sewingmachine thereon and having upstanding side and end walls and a bottomwall, the side, end, and bottom walls together defining a cavity inwhich the bed portion of a sewing machine can be accommodated, at leastone upstanding wall being composed of an interior wall and an exteriorwall spaced in parallel relation with the interior wall and terminatingin a bottom free edge, the interior wall of said parallel walls havingapertures therein for reducing the noise created by operation of asewing machine on the base, the exterior wall of said parallel wallsextending laterally opposite said interior wall apertures to shield saidapertures from view.

5. A portable sewing machine assembly comprising a base in accordancewith claim 4, a sewing machine mounted on the base with the bed portionin the cavity, and a cover enclosing the sewing machine and detachablymounted on the base.

1. A noise-reducing base for a carrying case for a portable sewingmachine, comprising an open-topped boxlike body adapted to support asewing machine, body walls formed on the sides, ends, and bottom of saidboxlike body which body walls together define a cavity within which thebed portion of the sewing machine can be accommodated, said body beingformed with a flat upper portion bordering said cavity and an externalplate depending from said flat upper portion in spaced substantiallyparallel relation opposite to a portion of at least one of said walls ofsaid body, said body wall being formed with an aperture openinginteriorly onto said sewing machine bed portion accommodating cavity,and opening externally into the space between said body wall and saidplate.
 2. A base for a carrying case for a portable sewing machine, inaccordance with claim 1 in which said body wall is formed with aplurality of apertures each opening interiorly into said sewing machinebed portion accommodating cavity and externally into the space betweensaid wall and said plate.
 3. A base for a carrying case for a portablesewing machine, in accordance with claim 1 in which said external plateis provided opposite to portions of said body walls both on the sidesand ends of said body, and in which said body walls on both the sidesand ends of said body are formed with apertures opening interiorly ontosaid sewing machine bed portion accommodating cavity, and openingexternally into the space between said wall and said plate.
 4. A basefor a sewing machine carrying case, comprising a generally rectangularopen-topped boxlike plastic body adapted to support a sewing machinethereon and having upstanding side and end walls and a bottom wall, theside, end, and bottom walls together defining a cavity in which the bedportion of a sewing machine can be accommodated, at least one upstandingwall being composed of an interior wall and an exterior wall spaced inparallel relation with the interior wall and terminating in a bottomfree edge, the interior wall of said parallel walls having aperturestherein for reducing the noise created by operation of a sewing machineon the base, the exterior wall of said parallel walls extendinglaterally opposite said interior wall apertures to shield said aperturesfrom view.
 5. A portable sewing machine assembly comprising a base inaccordance with claim 4, a sewing machine mounted on the base with thebed portion in the cavity, and a cover enclosing the sewing machine anddetachably mounted on the base.